Lampard insisted he would be his own man rather than a clone of some of the big names he has worked under, though he has clearly learned a great deal from some of his coaches. “Carlo Ancelotti was a manager you loved to play for, Harry Redknapp brought me through and showed me how to work at being a player, and José Mourinho changed my mindset,” he said.

Derby will not be among the Championship’s biggest spenders, with the chairman, Mel Morris, trying to cut the wage bill, yet Lampard had been in his new job for less than 10 minutes when he was asked about the possibility of bringing in John Terry. “I’m going to knock that one out of the park, I haven’t even had a conversation with John yet,” he said.

“I got a text from him this morning but that’s all; he’s on holiday somewhere. In terms of team strengthening I’ll look at the big picture – that’s how I’ll get out of that question. I don’t have a list as such but I’m prepared. I know the sort of players I want.”

Lampard intends to honour his World Cup punditry commitments with the BBC. “It doesn’t interfere with the Derby pre-season and it will be nice to look at a few players,” he said. He has people in mind for his backroom staff, though it is too soon to make any announcements.

One who will definitely be on board is his father, Frank Sr, but only in an unofficial capacity. “My dad will be an unpaid consultant, I expect,” Lampard said. “He’ll be Desmond Trufant Womens Jersey in my ear all the time, I’m sure. I spoke to him about the great team Derby had in his day and he reeled off all the names.

“He said he couldn’t remember who the little centre-half who could play was but it turned out he meant Colin Todd. I don’t remember that team because I am too young but I’ve heard a lot about it. I get the feeling it had grit as well as quality.”

Lampard will put emphasis on a strong work ethic. “That’s what we will be trying to reproduce here. We already have quality in the team but if we can get fitter and work hard we can be as good as anyone in this league. It’s easy for me to talk but only if I am sitting here in 10 months after a successful season will I feel I have added Willie Mays Womens Jersey to my achievements in football.”

Derby do not have financial resources of the sort that saw Wolves promoted to the Premier League but Lampard is confident he can improve players on the training ground.